India have finished Day 1 of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series finale with a fiery statement after teenage star Sam Konstas engaged in a war of words with champion bowler Jasprit Bumrah to cap a dramatic day’s play at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
After winning the toss and being bundled out for 185 — courtesy of another Scott Boland masterclass — 19-year-old Konstas went on the attack to Bumrah from the very first ball before the pair exchanged barbs with two balls remaining in the day.
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The clash evoked memories of the day Dean Jones asked Curtly Ambrose to remove his sweatbands, for Bumrah was just as fired up as the West Indian great was back in 1993.
And the move backfired on Australia and Konstas’s opening partner Usman Khawaja, who was out edging Bumrah to second slip to become Bumrah’s 31st victim for the series, which equals the record for Indian bowlers in Australia held by Bishan Bedi.
It all builds towards an epic Day 2 between Australia and India’s Rohit Sharma-less line-up, after almost unsurprisingly, controversy surrounding technology again reared its ugly head on multiple occasions.
Webster: “We all thought it was out” | 08:35
Across the board, the belief was clear that it was not a bad toss to lose given the overcast conditions and the sticky nature of the pitch.
Former Australian No. 4 Mark Waugh told foxsports.com.au that he believed 200 was a pass mark and that every run was valuable given the challenges presented by the pitch.
“It’s incredibly tough to make (and) score runs,” he said.
“I think if you got 200 and the conditions stayed relatively the same, I actually think that would have been a good score.
“I’ve never seen such a green wicket in Sydney. It’s hard to drive. It’s a bit tennis ball-y and there’s a lot of movement there.”
The visitors eventually finished 15 shy of Waugh’s “good score”, as Australia went into stumps 1/9 after losing Usman Khawaja on the very last ball of the day amid a Sam Konstas confrontation with stand-in Indian skipper Jasprit Bumrah.
These are all the big Talking Points from Day 1 at the SCG!
DID KONSTAS GO TOO FAR?
Sam Konstas has been the talk of Australian cricket since his dashing display on debut at the MCG but his youthful exuberance may need to be tempered when it comes to providing motivation for rivals.
Particularly when they are as effective as Bumrah. And definitely when it is the final over of the day. Having slowed the play masterfully after wearing a painful blow to the finger, Khawaja must have been feeling sick when he saw Konstas approach Bumrah before stumps.
It was riveting viewing, with the Indian captain and the young Aussie engaging in a discussion as the umpire moved between them. Bumrah is so good with the ball that it may not have made any difference.
But he was clearly fired up by the exchange, as evidenced by the send-off he directed towards the young opener, even though Konstas’s wicket is still intact.
After play, Australian debutant Beau Webster and Indian wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant were unable to exchange too much light on what unfolded, though the Tasmanian did say he loved the way the NSW opener approaches the challenge.
“I’m not really sure (what happened), it’s an interesting one,” Webster said.
“(Sam’s) a very confident young man, and that’s what they do these days these youngsters, they get after it.
“He’s got all the skills and all the talented to back it up, so hopefully has a really good day tomorrow and puts a few runs on the board.”
Pant continued: “They had a little chit chat. (Konstas) wanted to waste some time.
“I feel that’s the reason he had a conversation with (Jasprit). He said something. I didn’t hear it, but I feel that’s the only thing which he wanted to do, to just waste some time so we didn’t go one more over.”
“Our leader” – Pant reacts to Sharma | 08:56
AUSSIE X-FACTOR DOES IT AGAIN
As Scott Boland made his way back to the Members Stand at the SCG on Friday afternoon, he reserved a rousing reception usually reserved for New South Wales champions.
Effectively serving as Australia’s premier reserve bowler since 2021, the veteran fast bowler secured the 50th Test wicket of his career when snaring MCG centurion Nitish Kumar Reddy.
It was Boland’s fourth for the day and continued his fine record at the SCG following the seven wickets he took in his second Test match in the Ashes back in 2022.
Considered an MCG specialist, the wicket of Reddy – which followed the scalps of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant – saw his average at Sydney’s cricket ground dip to 7.
Boland BREAKS India with near hat-trick | 01:50
Brett Lee, no stranger to receiving fond applause from the Sydney faithful, made the point about Boland’s state of origin when praising just how special a bowler the Victorian is.
“This is Sydney too, mind you. He is loved down in Melbourne, as he should be. But he is loved all round the world as well now. He has got a cult following,” Lee said.
“He does not get overawed by the situation and he does not get bored. (And) the reason it is a good pitch for Boland is you have to create the opportunity and he has done that. He has absolutely nailed his length.”
The wickets of Jaiswal, who was superb in Melbourne when returning to form after producing a match-winning knock in Perth, and Kohli highlighted an exceptional trait of Boland’s.
Not only is a man who excels on the biggest stages, as evidenced by his deeds in Melbourne and Sydney and in the World Test Championship Final at Lord’s, he also secures the big name scalps as well.
While Kohli is not the same player he was during other tours of Australia, he remains a prized scalp as India’s No.4. He demonstrated this with a century in Perth in November.
Boland is too unassuming to claim that Kohli has become his bunny. But the figures demonstrate the 35-year-old has clearly got the upper hand.
In 98 deliveries to the Indian icon, Boland has figures of 4-32 against the legend at an average of 9.
But anyone who has witness Boland against the best, and on the biggest stages, will not be surprised. And nor will the batters who have come up against the Aussie fill-in.
Former English captain Joe Root is another who has fallen prey to the consistency and awkward line and length Boland regularly produces.
Boland has snared the scalp of Root four times as well, though the Englishman has enjoyed a little more success, having made 102 runs in 148 balls at an average of 25.50.
“He’s been amazing bowler,” Pant told reporters at stumps.
“The way he bowls line and length, especially in Test cricket, is quite difficult, because he’s so used to playing in these conditions … it feels like he’s been there for a long period of time.”
Former Australian star Mark Waugh told foxsports.com.au the nation’s ability to be able to call on a bowler like Boland when needed would be the envy of the cricket world.
“To be the fourth seamer, and really, that is what he is, Australia is very lucky,” he said.
“He is such a consistent bowler. He puts the ball in the danger zone more often than other bowlers, and he’s a bit of a skidder, so he’s always making you play at the ball.
“When he generally plays, he plays on pitches that suit him, so he’s not going to probably play in the sub-continent or on flatter pitch. So whenever he plays, you know the conditions are going to be favourable for him and he’s going to be extremely dangerous.
“Given the right conditions, he’s as good as anybody. He just puts the ball in the danger area all the time. He does enough off the seam. He bowls full, but he doesn’t bowl half volleys, so he’s never quite there to drive. So he’s a phenomenal bowler in the right conditions.”
Fox Cricket expert Kerry O’Keeffe praised Boland for being able to execute what he described as well orchestrated plans from the Australian selectors.
As a case in point, he identified Jaiswal’s tendency to straighten his front foot up – on the line of leg stump – also enabled bowlers to square him up if they found the right length.
“The ball that got Jaiswal was the perfect ball that Scott Boland bowls. It was on the 8.1 metre line with his front foot going straight on (from leg stump),” O’Keeffe said.
SHARMA’S OMISSION COULD SEE HIM ‘PULL THE PLUG’
Nobody is immune to facing the axe. Even the captain of the world’s most powerful cricket team.
Rohit Sharma, who has averaged 22.77 in Test since the start of February last year, watched from the Member’s Stand in his training kit as Indian openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahiul walked out to bat on Friday morning. The 37-year-old, having led India towards a T20 World Cup title six months ago, had been omitted from the starting XI for the New Year’s Test, with bowler Jasprit Bumrah leading the team in his absence.
During the toss, Bumrah claimed that Sharma “opted to rest” for the Sydney Test, but truth be told, it was no longer viable having him in the side with the talented Shubman Gill waiting in the wings.
Aussie greats ‘shocked’ by Sharma’s call | 01:19
“I think the Indian team is stronger for the selection of Shubman Gill,” former Australian batter Mark Waugh said on Fox Cricket commentary.
“I think it was the right call for Sharma. He has just looked totally out of form. And you know it, too, as a player.
“It is a big decision. You don’t often make a comeback when you are dropped at that age. With Test match cricket, I’d be saying, ‘Thank you. You’ve been a tremendous player. But we are moving on now.’”
During the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Sharma has accumulated 31 runs at 6.20 with a high score of 10. He has looked sluggish at the crease, and late to react when facing Australia’s world-class fast bowlers.
Thrown up and down the batting order like a yo-yo, India experimented with its line-up in hope of rejuvenating Sharma’s batting; but whether he was opening or walking out at No. 6, runs evaded him.
Meanwhile, Australian captain Pat Cummins has tactically outclassed his Indian counterpart throughout the series, particularly in Melbourne last week. India has failed to win six consecutive matches under his guidance, meaning the Asian powerhouse is unlikely to qualify for the World Test Championship final for the first time in the competition’s brief history.
India doesn’t have another Test scheduled until June’s tour of England, at which point Sharma will have celebrated his 38th birthday. Amid reports of unrest in the sheds and animosity with the coaching staff, it remains to be seen whether Sharma will feature on the United Kingdom tour.
His Test career is in limbo.
“If there was a home season coming up he might’ve thought of carrying on, but I think he might just pull the plug at the end of this Test,” former Indian coach Ravi Shastri said.
“He’s not getting younger … it’s not that India don’t have youngsters. There are very, very good players in the wings and it’s time to build.
“Tough decisions, but there is a time for everything.”
Former Australian captain Allan Border continued: “It is something you have been doing since you were a kid, so it is a really hard decision to give the game away.”
‘That’s out!’ – DRS drama favours Kohli | 03:07
MORE BATTING BRAIN FADES PUT INDIA ON THE ROPES
With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy well and truly on the line at 2-1 Australia’s way heading to Sydney, India could ill-afford another repeat of their second innings in Melbourne.
It was Rishabh Pant’s brain fade off part-timer bowler Travis Head which kick-started their epic collapse of 7/39 to lose in the Boxing Day Test, holing out to deep mid-wicket in the final session on Day 5.
And while there were no erratic dismissals of that nature on Day 1 in Sydney, the application of India’s top and middle order were still below par given the high standards expected of them.
Proceedings began early when KL Rahul departed the SCG for just four runs on Friday morning, nonchalantly flicking Mitchell Starc to Sam Konstas at forward square leg.
Normally a compact and disciplined batter, Rahul’s early exit left the recalled Shubman Gill exposed to the new ball and India on the back foot from the get-go in Sydney.
“That’s a soft dismissal, if ever there was one. He concentrated hard, he had left a loft of deliveries,” his former India coach Ravi Shastri said on Fox Cricket.
“He’ll be disappointed, because it’s a nothing shot. Straight forward catch to the youngster (Konstas).
Australian fast bowling great Brett Lee echoed Shastri’s description of the shot, after what had been a resounding first 13 balls faced.
“(A) nothing shot from KL Rahul unfortunately, it wasn’t the best of balls. It was the pressure he (Starc) created before that I think that created the false stroke,” added Lee.
“He’ll be disappointed with that KL Rahul. He looked like he had himself set to dig in.”
An hour and a half later, Rahul’s replacement at the crease departed in an equally bizarre manner on what turned out to be the last ball before lunch.
After an unsuccessful attempt to elongate Nathan Lyon’s over to 12:30pm for lunch, Gill ran down the wicket to a sliding off-break, catching the edge which was safely snaffled up by Steve Smith at first slip.
“What a strange shot!” Fox Cricket expert Harsha Bhogle exclaimed as the wicket fell.
“Shubman Gill’s done all the hard work, but hasn’t troubled the scoreboard too much … that lunch is not going to taste very good now.”
“That’s the errors that teams make against Australia; one minute before lunch!” former Australian spinner Kerry O’Keeffe added.
On the back of Australia’s excellent bowling and their own poor shot selection, India more the most part reined in their stroke play during the middle session – with the exception of Virat Kohli, who once again fell edging a rival quick.
With India’s more conservative approach however, naturally came a decline in their overrate. They were rightly less keen on driving and punching balls through the in-field. Even if they wanted to, Australia’s metronomic lengths prevented them from doing so most of the time.
Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja each grinded out one of their slowest innings ever at Test level. It made for extra discomfort given their usually attacking style, and unfortunately for Pant, it ended up his downfall.
A miscued pull shot off Scott Boland saw him depart for 40 at the start of the final session, before India’s fourth Test hero Nitish Kumar Reddy nicked off first ball to a very poorly judged fend back of a length outside off stump.
Boland’s delivery to the 21-year-old all-rounder was well back of a length, and nearly on a seventh stump line. The Victorian is world-class when it comes to enticing batters to play balls not hitting the stumps, but Reddy’s dismissal was indicative of poor application shared by several of his teammates.
India will have one final chance in their second innings to rectify the wrongs that, especially in the last two Tests, have brought them to this do-or-die situation to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. They aren’t a force you can often, if at all, out a line through. But they are now well behind the eight ball heading into Day 2 at the SCG.
“Something there” – Review successful! | 02:50
OH, JOEL
Australia’s umpiring nemesis returns.
Trinidadian umpire Joel Wilson has added another chapter to his infamous history of Australian Test match controversies, tasked with adjudicating the contentious non-dismissal of Indian superstar Virat Kohli on Friday morning.
Without the assistance of a soft signal, third umpire Wilson was the lone judge on Steve Smith’s acrobatic effort at second slip, which ignited the Sydney crowd.
After analysing the slow-motion replays, Wilson handed down his not out verdict after claiming the ball “rolled” along the turf during Smith’s one-handed attempt, granting Kohli a massive reprieve.
The decision understandably prompted plenty of debate in the commentary box and on social media channels. The Kookaburra was wedged between Smith’s thumb and index finger before he parried it towards Marnus Labuschagne at gully, but the ball did appear to scrape along the turf for a couple of frames.
Of course, this could have just been an optical illusion …
“I think that’s out; I think that’s very close to touching the grass but I think he rolled underneath it with his finger,” former Australian batter Mark Waugh said on Fox Cricket commentary.
“I think he’s got away with one there Kohli, but that’s the way the game goes. I suppose you can look at it two ways, beauty’s in the eye of the beholder. I think evidence suggests he just had his finger underneath it.”
Wilson, who has been adjudicating international cricket since 2011, is a highly-respected member of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, but Australian supporters have understandably become frustrated with the 58-year-old over the years.
During the 2019 Ashes Test at Edgbaston, Wilson had eight decisions overturned before he failed to give England all-rounder Ben Stokes out LBW a couple of weeks later at Headingley, which ultimately denied Australia victory and robbed the tourists of a drought-breaking series triumph.
He came under fire for multiple wrong calls during the 2023 Indore Test between Australia and India, while he incorrectly gave all-rounder Mitchell Marsh out on consecutive deliveries during last summer’s Boxing Day Test against Pakistan at the MCG.
Even last week at the MCG, Wilson found himself in the middle of an umpiring storm after he neglected to give Yashasvi Jaiswal out after the Indian opener gloved a delivery through to Australian wicketkeeper Alex Carey.
Time and time again, Wilson has been ridiculed for his ill-judged decisions – and while Friday’s verdict at the SCG was far from a howler, Australian fans couldn’t help but roll their eyes in resentment.
Wilson was tested one final time on day one with the caught behind appeal of Prasidh Krishna falling Australia’s way, after Snicko detected seemingly the finest of flicks off Krishna’s gloves.
But despite what looked to be a flicker on the radar, a grey area has appeared with Snicko after the dismissal of Yashasvi Jaiswal at the MCG earlier this week.
Last year, 35.4 per cent of reviews against Wilson on-field were successfully overturned, the highest figures among umpires at international level in 2024.
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